A pregnant Australian renter is suing her former landlord and real estate agency, alleging she suffered a series of injuries when she fell through a wooden floor at home, and that she later learned in hospital she had suffered a miscarriage.
Samantha*, a 35-year-old woman from Melbourne, alleges she mis-stepped and fell through a hole in the floorboards that she claimed a repairman had partly patched up using cardboard.
Fire Rescue Victoria said they spent 35 minutes cutting the woman from the floor in the rental home at Thomastown in April this year.
‘I was unconscious when my dogs woke me up. I had rice on the stove before I fell. The cooker was on fire,’ she claimed.
As a result of the fall, the woman claims she suffered a sprained ankle, back injury and concussion. She also later found out later she had been pregnant and had suffered a miscarriage.
‘Prior to that, in 2020, I had a massive tumour removed from my uterus, so they said it was near impossible to get pregnant,’ she said.
‘When we found out I had a miscarriage, that’s what hit me the hardest, I think.’
The hole in the wooden floor of the Melbourne rental property after the woman alleges she fell through. She said she and her partner had requested the real estate fix the issue
The woman, who is preparing to lodge her lawsuit in the County Court of Victoria, said she has ongoing psychological issues and her partner had lodged repeated repair requests prior to her fall.
According to her lawyers, Slater and Gordon, the requests were ‘seemingly ignored’ until a repairman covered the hole with cardboard and tape.
Public liability specialist with the firm, Jackson Pannam, said the alleged breach of a duty of care was ‘fairly egregious’.
‘She’s still receiving active treatment. We’re not clear on the extent of her psychiatric injuries at this stage.’
The pair later stopped paying rent and were evicted from the property.
The real estate agency Love&Co has said some of the tenants allegations are ‘simply incorrect’.
They said there was no hole in the floorboards when an inspection was carried out ahead of the couple moving into the home.
Prior to the fall the woman and her partner allege a repairman working for the real estate had ‘fixed’ the hole using cardboard and tape (pictured)
The woman’s partner first moved into the property in April 2021, and raised the first complaint via email in September that year.
‘They likely need to be replaced as they are both a tripping and falling hazard for us,’ he wrote in a September 2021 email.
Further repair requests were sent in 2022 and 2023 after the woman moved in with him.
A building inspection report commissioned by Slater and Gordon in July this year found the property had poor storm water drainage leading to structural cracking, a sunken kitchen foundation and unlevel flooring.
The woman is suing for ‘pain and suffering’ from her injuries along with out-of-pocket medical expenses and lost revenue from being unable to work as a family lawyer since the fall.
Mr Pannam said the Residential Tenancies Act governing relationships between landlords and tenants, was amended in 2021 to mandate minimum standards for rental properties.
The Act requires a landlord to ensure the property is structurally sound, safe and free of damp and mould amongst other basic standards.
According to Tenants Victoria, properties for rent need to be free from mould and damp and meet minimum standards for ventilation.
Mr Pannam said that renters should immediately report any safety issues to the real estate agent and ask for repairs to be arranged.
He recommended notifying the agent of any safety issues in writing, and that renters should be prepared to take their landlord to VCAT if necessary.
Love&Co has been contacted for further comment.
*Not her real name
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